Center, North Dakota
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1972. It stands in the East Oliver unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 58530. The Survey maps it on the Center quadrangle. 588 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,975 feet above sea level.
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Population over time
2 figuresCenter grew from 571 to 588 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 571 | |
| 2020 | 588 | +17 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
3 surveys from 6 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS McClusky quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS McClusky quadrangle1:250000
- 1972 USGS Center quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
13 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Center between 2008 and 2020, burning about 1,098 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | BALL PARK FIRE |
| 4 July 2018 | Natural | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | ERHARDT |
| 30 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | HAZEL MINER |
| 21 June 2016 | Fireworks | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | FIREWORKS FIRE |
| 14 June 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | HWY 200A AND HWY 48 INTERSECTION |
| 20 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | TREE ROWS |
| 5 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | WILBERT J BELT |
| 30 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | JEFF ERHARDT |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
60 of 78 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Center in 78 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 47 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2014 | Hail | Center | $200,000 | There was damage to buildings and the hail stripped leaves from trees and broke branches. Hail ranged from quarter to baseball size. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $100,000 | Trees six inches in diameter were snapped in Center. Power lines were also reported down from the falling trees. |
| May 1994 | Hail | Center | $50,000 | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $35,000 | A small grain bin was blown out of the yard, and shingles were blown off the west side of a house. |
| July 2005 | Hail | Center | $30,000 | Damage to homes, vehicles, and trees. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $20,000 | A farm was impacted by the severe thunderstorm winds. Fences were blown down, garage doors were blown out, roofs were damaged, and farmyard items were blown over and rolled. Crop damage was also reported. |
| June 2011 | Flash Flood | Center | $20,000 | Heavy rainfall of over three inches resulted in widespread flash flooding over eastern Oliver County as confirmed by emergency management. Low water crossings were flooded with damage to gravel roads and culverts. |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $12,000 | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $10,000 | Trees were down near Center. |
| September 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $10,000 | Hail up to the size of nickels accompanied the severe thunderstorm wind gusts. Some tree damage was reported in Center. |
| May 1994 | Hail | Center | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $1,000 | Damage to observers home. Soffit and gutter was torn off. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | $500 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Center | $100 | One window was broken due to the hail. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by the public. |
| June 2011 | Funnel Cloud | Center | - | Two funnel clouds were reported over Oliver County. The funnels did not reach the surface and dissipated shortly after forming. |
| June 2011 | Funnel Cloud | Center | - | Three funnel clouds were reported. Law enforcement reported these funnels did not touch the ground. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Very heavy rain accompanied the strong thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Severe thunderstorm wind gusts were accompanied by dime size hail. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Rainfall was 0.57 inches in a very short period of time which caused very minor street flooding. The storm was accompanied by pea size hail. |
| May 2005 | Flash Flood | Center | - | Heavy rainfall of 3.50 inches caused water to flow across farm yard and into the basement of a farm house. |
| August 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Center | - | Tornado briefly touched down in open country. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Large tree limbs broken. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Numerous reports by a NWS cooperative observer and newspaper of damage to buildings and downed power lines. Several crop fields wiped out by wind and hail. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Center | - | Mostly heavy rain with this storm. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | A public report of a 10 foot section of a roof lifted off home. A moble home had wind and hail damage. A top of a camper completely destroyed. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | Farm home and machinery damaged. One machine fipped over and hood off a pickup torned off. Farmer thought the damage was caused by a tornado but could not confirm. |
| November 2000 | Tornado (F1) | Center | - | Tornado entered Oliver county from Morton county. The tornado remained in open country then lifted back into the clouds 14 miles southeast of Center. |
| May 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Center | - | Brief touch down |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2024 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2017 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| September 2014 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Center | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hannover | 6.7 miles | 5 | |
| Fort Clark | 8.9 miles | 6 | |
| Otter Creek | 14.3 miles | 5 | |
| Hensler | 15.1 miles | 9 | |
| Sanger | 16.7 miles | 8 | |
| Price | 19.1 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Center | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2087867 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1028320. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.


